


and there are dreams that cannot be (and there are storms we cannot weather)

by lovelyflowersinherhair



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-05-30 17:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19407646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyflowersinherhair/pseuds/lovelyflowersinherhair
Summary: "You have actual problems to deal with. The Mafia thinks that it is acceptable to come in here and start shooting the citizens of Riverdale? Who knows what else they have planned. You might have your position revoked.”A Season 2 re-write.





	1. Chapter 1

“What the hell are you playing at?” Alice belatedly identified the voice that had spoken to Sheriff Keller’s as her own, but she decided that she would hold firm with her general levels of disapproval, even with the look that  _ Harold _ was giving her. Alice knew that Tom Keller was a tactless imbecile, but there was a line to be drawn, and it was clearly going to have to be her that drew it. “Why don’t you repeat what you said to me?” 

“That we need to question Archie about what happened today at the diner?” Tom echoed. 

“That child’s  _ parent _ is laying in the Emergency Room,” Alice hissed, the scowl evident on her face as she crossed the room to where Keller had accosted Archibald, who looked entirely too numb to be of any use for any sort of questioning, whether it was from the Sheriff himself or that mutt he owned asking for its daily walk. Archibald was typically dimwitted, but this was entirely acceptable for the situation shock, and Alice was not going to let one of Elizabeth’s friends be hoodwinked into a situation that he did not need to be involved with. “Fred Andrews cannot consent to your little...interrogation of his child, and in case you haven’t noticed, Mary is not here.” 

She drew in a deep breath. “Frankly, Tom, I won’t stand for this,” she said. “Your behavior as of late has been absolutely  _ abhorrent _ and I won’t be party to your decisions to bastardize the course of justice in the name of making yourself look good. First the absolute  _ butchering _ of the Jason Blossom murder case, including  _ cocercing  _ a confession out of an innocent man because you hold some  _ grudge _ against FP for what? Being a Serpent? What the hell else was he supposed to do?” 

“Right now, however, my current position is that your behavior with the children is beyond the pale,” she continued. “First your stunt involving questioning that Blossom girl without a lawyer present? Then your continued ineptness when you decided that a  _ juvenile _ conviction meant that Forsythe here got one on one time with you because you thought he had killed Jason Blossom?” Alice scoffed. “If you really believed in the law you would have questioned Elizabeth, too. You just care about what fits your current viewpoint.” 

“Alice--”

“Shut up, Hal,” Alice growled. “You just stood there like a lump on a log!” If looks could kill, Alice’s would have. “As I was saying--”

“Mrs. Cooper?” Archibald interjected, and Alice couldn’t help to note that he had paled even more. “I’ll speak with the Sheriff. But I want you there. Is that acceptable?”

“Son--”

“Enough, Tom,” Alice hissed. “Archibald, of course I will accompany you. And my attorney will be in touch with you about your treatment of FP.” Her eyes flashed. Tom Keller gulped. 

“Alice--”

“Did I not just tell you to be quiet, Harold? Hermione Lodge has been less of a hindrance than you! What is the  _ matter _ with you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you were behind this.” 

“How dare you--”

“How dare I? How dare  _ you _ break into the Sheriff’s house and steal his files from an  _ active _ murder investigation? That goes beyond wanting to protect your family, which is a load of bull if I’ve ever heard it. You only wanted to protect yourself. And where  _ were _ you this morning? Why do your shoes have  _ blood _ on them?” 

“We’re in an Emergency Room--”

“He’s the one that shot my dad!” Archibald interjected. “He was wearing those boots.”

“You  _ stole  _ my files--”

“That’s what you’re focusing on?” Alice demanded. “Not the fact that your  _ gunman _ was stupid enough to shoot a man and not even  _ change his shoes _ before showing up at the ER that his victim got brought to?” She scowled. “What did Fred Andrews do to deserve being shot?” 

“It was  _ her _ idea--”

“Oh? Whose idea? Tell me, Harold?” Alice’s tone was polite, but she was decidedly unamused by this. “I’m sure Archibald and the Sheriff appreciate your candor.” 

“Mine,” Hermione said. “He wouldn’t recuse himself from the company,” she sighed. “It was the price of doing business with the Lodges. What I want to know is how he  _ lived _ ?”

“The price of doing business?” Tom echoed. “What does that mean?” 

“Haven’t you seen the Godfather?” Alice demanded. “You can’t seriously be surprised that the Lodges are in the business of  _ popping people off _ when they get in their way? How did you even become our Sheriff in the first place?” 

Alice felt that she was the sole adult in charge of a group of overgrown children, and this was  _ not _ a position that she desired to have herself in. She was getting another migraine. 

“Elizabeth,” she commanded. “Get them out of here. I don’t care what you do. I don’t want Archibald and Veronica here. Take Snake Plissen with you.” 

She fished her car keys out of her purse, and tossed them in Betty’s direction. “Go,” she said. “Take that mutt out for his walk. Get Archibald some clean clothes. Take the Lodge girl home and have her get her things.” She drew in a deep breath. “Tom, will you handcuff dumb and dumber, please? Try not to look like you don’t have half a clue what you’re doing.” 

“You’re letting V stay with us?” Betty asked. 

“Veronica...and Archibald,” Alice said. “And if you think I’m letting Jughead stay on the Southside of town supervised by some  _ gang related _ family, you have another thing coming, and so does that two-bit social worker.” 

“You can’t do that--”

“Oh? Tom, dear, I think that we can agree that I can do what I want, and I will do what I want,” she purred. “You have actual problems to deal with. The Mafia thinks that it is acceptable to come in here and start shooting the citizens of Riverdale? Who knows what else they have planned. You might have your position revoked.”

“It’s not that big a deal,” Hal interjected. Alice narrowed her eyes. “What? Fred needed to die. He was an adulterer.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fred is not your father’s best friend,” she corrected. “But, I agree, he deserves to be kept informed. I will be a benevolent as possible, Jughead. Right now, Archibald needs you to be his friend. Lord knows you and Elizabeth are the closest things he has to sane, positive, influences.”

“What does  _ that _ have to do with anything?” Archie demanded after a moment of uncomfortable silence, during which the Sheriff had proven to be slightly less incompent than Alice had thought possible, and had handcuffed her dimwitted excuse for a husband, and that odious Lodge woman. “Who cares that she was an adulterer, or whatever?”

“It’s a sin--”   
  


“Oh, would you be quiet, Harold?” Alice said, and she pressed a hand to her temple. “Archibald is simply wondering why on earth Hermione would find the sin of adultery all that pressing, given that she herself was the person having an affair with Frederick. He did not ask you for one of your insipid lectures on the immorality of Riverdale. If we wanted one of those I would just invite your horror of a mother to come visit.” She sighed. “For that matter, so would I? Were you manipulating Harold into doing your dirty work and neglecting to bring him up to speed? Hermione, I am  _ disappointed _ in you.”

“I didn’t tell him about my affair with Fred,” Hermione said. “He told me about Fred’s affair with Gladys Jones.” 

“Come again?” 

“Is now  _ really _ the time, Alice?” 

“Oh, when do you want the time to be, Sheriff? When I divest myself of the children and arrive at the barracks to bail FP out of your hell hole of a lockup and allow him to  _ overhear  _ this bit of Elm Street lore that I am sure he would  _ love _ to hear about? And don’t even  _ pretend _ that you care about the children and what they’re hearing. You were the one that started to treat them as adults in every interaction you’ve ever had with them,” she reminded him. “Interactions I know  _ all _ about, in their every  _ lurid _ detail. Tell me what you know, Hal, or so help me I will get Gladys’s address from Jughead and drive out to Toledo myself to provide a little Serpent justice.” Alice recognized what she had said out loud, but, given the situation, she was willing to let her admittance slide. It wasn’t as if being a Serpent was the worst thing anyone in the room had done. Not with two people admitting to being involved in a murder plot, and Harold’s idiot mouth informing the children that Jughead’s missing mother had been involved with Archibald’s moron of a father. When Frederick woke up, he was going to be in for an unpleasant surprise, involving a series of lectures that Alice was already mentally composing. 

“Not much,” Hal muttered. “Just that they had a bit on the side, you know?”

“That is  _ still _ not a reason to shoot someone!” Alice exploded. “Are you serious, Harold? We don’t shoot our neighbors because they had an affair with their supposed best friend’s husband! You don’t even  _ like _ FP! Why do you care who Gladys slept with?”

“I need to tell my dad,” Jughead mumbled. 

“You will do no such thing,” Alice said. “I will tell your father. Elizabeth, can you  _ please  _ get them out of here?”

Betty nodded. Her ponytail swung. Alice watched as she looped her arm through Jughead’s. 

“Are you serious, Mija?” Hermione demanded. “Are you really going with them? You are a  _ Lodge _ before all else, and I--”

“Smithers lied about you,” Veronica said. “He told me that you were good. That Daddy was the bad one. I  _ believed _ him. And now you go off and do this? Why? Because he wouldn’t be bought out? I am so tired of being lied to, and treated like a child. You want to start hiring people to shoot people? That’s on you, Mom. Not on me.”

“You really don’t want me telling my dad?” Jughead asked, his gaze downcast. Alice bit back a sigh. “I mean, because, I can tell him. Doesn’t he deserve to know that Mr. A is in the hospital? They’re best friends--”

“Fred is  _ not _ your father’s best friend,” she corrected. “But, I agree, he deserves to be kept informed. I will be a benevolent as possible, Jughead. Right now, Archibald needs you to be his friend. Lord knows you and Elizabeth are the closest things he has to sane, positive, influences.” 

Jughead glanced over at Archie, and Alice saw him steel himself. “Where is my dad going to go? The Sheriff trashed our trailer.”

“Did he?” Alice arched a brow. “How shocking. Not to worry. I will find you and your father a place to stay. The poor thing might be delighted. He always wanted a house on Elm Street. You shouldn’t worry about packing, Jughead. I’m sure that after the Sheriff releases your father we will be more than capable of going to what passed as your home after Gladys turned tail and ran, and Frederick decided that his prejudice extended to every other member of your family besides the one who he had an affair with to obtain those items of value that you left behind.”

“Don’t you need a lawyer?” He retorted. “The court appointed attorney said that--”   
  


“Things have changed, Jughead. The Sheriff has bigger fish to fry than pinning your father with every charge known to man, don’t you, Tom? Given these rather  _ delicious  _ new circumstances?” 

* * *

“What the hell is she doing here?” FP demanded. “Like being stuck in here isn’t bad enough, you’ve brought Alice here to lord over me?” 

“I’m releasing you,” the Sheriff said in response, and he blinked at him in confusion. It was a trap, wasn’t it? Why the hell was he being released? “Circumstances have come to light and as a result the Sheriff’s office has decided to decline the prosecution of you. Alice is here because…”   
  


“Because I’m offering you and Jughead a place to stay,” she said. “A fresh start, if you will.”

“What does your old man have to say about that?” He scoffed. “You know he won’t like it.” 

  
  


“Harold is a non-issue,” she told him, her tone clipped. “He is...part of the circumstances that have come to light.”

“And what will you do if I say no?”

Not that FP was planning on saying no. He knew a good thing when he saw it. And that included taking advantage of a fresh start, even if it was only so Alice could lord it over him. Anything was better than being stuck in a holding cell at the barracks. 

“I’m tired, FP,” she said, and she sighed. “I don’t have the energy to debate this with you.” 

“What’s the matter?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “Not here, at least.”

It was clear that something was wrong. FP sought out a subject change. “Can I drive?” 

“God, I hope so. You have no idea how erroneous ‘like riding a bike’ is as a statement.” He watched, amazed, as Alice quirked her lips into a smirk. “I gave Elizabeth the keys to my station wagon, neglecting to realize that would leave me with Jughead’s motorcycle as a mode of transportation.” She sighed. “It’s been a long time. I’m out of practice.” She sighed. “Come along, FP. I don’t want to be here when Harold shows up.” 

“Why would Harold show up?” 

“It’s a long story,” she said after a moment. “And I’m going to tell you. I don’t think it should be here.” 

FP glanced up at her, and he let out a heavy sigh. “Whatever you want, Alice,” he said. He scrubbed a hand over his beard. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get the hell out of this shithole. Come on, let’s go home.”

Whatever the hell hold Alice had on the Sheriff, that was something that FP wasn’t sure of, but he knew it had to exist given that Tom was just standing there, taking the jabs that FP was shooting his way. And if Alice wanted to exploit the fucked up pull that she had on the shithole Sheriff, hell the pull that she had on the shithole town, on his behalf, FP Jones sure as  _ fuck _ wasn’t going to stand in her damn way. He had better shit to do than sit in that damn cell with just a comic book for company. 

Still. He had to make sure that this was real, and not some fucked up trap cooked up by her and Hal Cooper.

“What’s the catch?” 

“There isn’t one,” Keller informed him. “You didn’t kill the Blossom boy, why should we waste a holding cell on the likes of you?”

“We’re not so different,” he reminded him. “I was a cop once, too. You just couldn’t handle the fact that my dad died and they made me their King. So you had your asshole of a dad fire me because of something I didn’t even want. I should have known then to get the  _ hell _ out of this goddamned forsaken town. Guess I was too stupid to see what was going on in front of my own nose.” He shook his head. “You, Fred, you’re all the same. Both goddamned holier than thou.” 

“How--”

“Perhaps you and FP can have your cat fight later?” Alice interjected. “I would hate for the two of you to say things that you regret because you don’t like the fact that you have to do actual police work and because he hasn’t had a solid meal since the day you arrested him. By the way,” she purred. “I look forward to your history speaking for itself when the Feds get into town.” She looped her arm through FP’s, and he felt a chill slip down his spine. “Goodbye, Tom. Come along, FP. We have better places to be.” 

There was a blanket of snow covering the ground as he exited the barracks. “Thought I was only there a couple of weeks,” he sighed. 

“You were,” Alice agreed. “Less than that,” she sighed, as she ran her hands through her hair. “There was an early squall. They say it’s going to be a long, painful, winter.” 

“You don’t have to put up with me and the boy,” he said. “We can just head to Toledo, Alice. Like we were planning--” She shook her head. “What the hell problem is there with that?”

“You don’t understand,” she sighed. “You don’t know what they’ve done.”   
  


“What who’s done? Alice, if you are implying that my ten year old daughter is some sort of grifter just because of who she got the  _ shit _ luck of having as parents--”

“I’m not  _ implying _ that. I don’t think that. I’m saying that there are things that you need to know, things that you don’t know, because they were kept from you. Things that you need to be informed of in order for you to make an informed decision before you uproot your entire lives-- and I don’t want to talk about them here because they are things that you shouldn’t hear in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s station!”

“...okay.” 

“What?”   
  


“I mean, no offense, Al, but if  _ you _ don’t want me to know about whatever the fuck is going on because we’re in public, given your campaign to make me and the Serpents your topic of the damn day in your paper...well, whatever it is must be absolute shit. And maybe I don’t want to know about it yet.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Give me the keys to the bike. You can wear the damn helmet.” 

At least on the bike, FP thought to himself, as he mounted the hog and waited until Alice’s arms were wrapped firmly around his middle, only then turning it on, at least on the bike they didn’t have to talk. They could just be blissfully silent. 

“You good?” He asked Alice. He was annoyed, but not really at her. “Al?” 

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “Let’s just get this over with. Drive to your trailer and we can switch to the truck.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What happened there?” Veronica purred. “Mr. Andrews and Mr. Jones? Friends? Lovers gone awry?”

_ The choices in life that we make are ours alone, not dictated by some sort of higher power with a perverse sense of humor. The girl next door makes the decision to fall in love with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, instead of holding a sad, lonely, torch for the boy next door. The boy next door was forced to grow up entirely too fast -- through no fault of his own -- and will have to grow up faster further still. The enigma from the Upper East Side who arrived in Riverdale shrouded in a cloud of mysteries thought she could find happiness with the boy next door, but is that really possible with the sins of the mother, and the father?  _

_ Boy meets girl and girl meets boy. Girl meets girl and boy meets boy. We all have a part to play in this world of class differences and first dates. Kisses at midnight and nights spent sleeping in treehouses. Fathers who have fallen in love with the bottle and mothers who crossed the railroad tracks in the hope of a brighter path. Children growing up with the shadow of the past marking their every move -- unaware of how their parents’ past decisions have come home to roost.  _

_ Love begets love, and hate begets hate, and Riverdale is nothing but a town of extremes.  _

_ It appeared that the moment of tranquility that had been found in the aftermath of discovering the truth about how Jason Blossom had died had once more been shattered by a gunman’s bullet.  _

* * *

  
  
  


The specter of the house next door loomed beside the Cooper home, and Betty sighed at the sight of Jughead trying to convince Archie that it was entirely okay to enter the home that he had lived in his entire life. The scene would have been comical if it wasn’t entirely depressing. Beside her stood Veronica, and several monogrammed travel bags. “We could probably go inside?” She suggested. “Polly might be awake?” Not that Betty particularly wanted to see Polly. She was sure that the news that Jughead and Mr. Jones were going to be living with them would displease her sister immensely. She shivered, only due in part to the cold. 

“What is it like, living with Polly again?” Veronica asked. 

“It’s weird,” Betty sighed. “I think that she’s mad at me for dating Jughead, for that article that I wrote--”

“B, you don’t think--”   
  


“Don’t think what?” Betty asked. 

“You don’t think that she wrote that stuff on your locker, do you?” Veronica’s gaze was solemn. “I mean, do you think it’s possible?” 

The thought that Polly had potentially written that horrible message on her locker had yet to occur to Betty, but she realized that it made a sickening amount of sense. Polly always had a way of twisting around her actions in ways that made whatever crazy reaction Polly had in response seem downright justified, when most others would have left well enough alone. What had been written on her locker? That was entirely in character for her older sister. 

“It was weird how it showed up the day that she went to school with us,” Betty murmured. “I just...I didn’t want to think that my own sister…” She sighed. “Right now, we need to focus on the situation at hand. Archie needs us.” 

She opened the door and beckoned Veronica into the house. “Polly?” She called. The table was set with the remnants of the meal that she and her mother had been eating when Archie called to tell her about his father, and she bit back a sigh. That would need to be cleaned before Alice got back. “Polly? Where are you?” 

Silence was the only reply. 

“Maybe she went to school?” Veronica suggested. 

“She’s not  _ allowed to _ go to school,” Betty said. “My mom is going to be so mad…”

“Not your problem. Polly is her own person. Let her get in trouble. She probably deserves it.” 

Betty worried her lower lip. “B,” she said. “You can’t fix everything.” 

“I know,” she whispered. “I just...everything’s changed, V. My dad is an attempted murderer, my mom is letting  _ Archie  _ and Jughead and his  _ dad _ stay with us, so I don’t know if she’s lost her mind, and Mr. Andrews is laying in a hospital bed in a  _ coma _ and now we don’t know if he’ll ever wake up--and what if he’s Jellybean’s dad? Mr. Jones is going to be so mad--”

“What  _ happened _ there?” Veronica purred. “Mr. Andrews and Mr. Jones? Friends? Lovers gone awry?” 

“V!” Betty felt her face color to the shade of a tomato. “Mr. Jones and Mr. Andrews were not  _ lovers _ gone awry. They used to run the construction company together. Things went bad. I’m not really sure of all the details. Jughead doesn’t like to talk about it...and Archie’s perspective is skewed. He’s very defensive of his father.” 

“I just think it’s so  _ scandalous _ , you know,” V admitted. “A hidden  _ affair _ between Mr. Andrews and Mrs. Jones? Tres...Upper East Side, B. Who knows what other secrets this town holds? Is someone hiding a secret love child anywhere?” 

“It’s not funny,” she sighed. “How can you joke about things like this? Your mother hired my father to be her hitman! Archie’s dad might die! We have to live in a house with all of these people and my mother and sister! This is a disaster--”   
  


“This is par for the course for my life,” she said. “Do you think Fred is the first person that my mother or father...arranged to have meet their demise? The fact that he survived is shocking, and probably only due to her trusting your father to do her dirty work. I...I have to find some way to cope, otherwise--” 

The phone cut Veronica off with a ring, and both girls jumped a mile. 

“Hello?”

The line crackled as the connection faded out, and Betty strained to hear the person on the other end of the telephone. “Hello?” She repeated. “Cooper residence?” Even in times of crisis (and Betty definitely considered this to be a crisis) she was entirely well trained. “To whom may I direct your call?”

“Mrs. Cooper?” The person on the other end questioned. “Am I speaking to Alice Cooper?” 

“I’m sorry, she’s not in at the moment,” she informed the caller, as she twisted the cord of the telephone around her fingers. “I can take a message?” 

“This is Principal Weatherbee, from Riverdale High School? I need to speak to her regarding one of her daughters--” 

Betty blanched. “Mr. Weatherbee, I can explain,” she insisted. “The only reason I’m not in school is because Mr. Andrews got shot. He’s in a coma, he--”   
  


“Miss Cooper, take a deep breath,” he interjected. “Your mother has already called and informed me about the horrible accident that has befallen your classmate’s father. I understand that you will not be returning to school on an indefinite basis.” He sighed. “The problem lies with your sister.”

“With Polly?” 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was Alice wrong to take advantage of Fred’s state to allow the wheels of justice to continue practicing turning? Perhaps. Did she care? No.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Polly complained, and Waldo managed to resist the urge to sigh heavily. “All Cheryl and I did was plant a gun. It was our dads’ idea. Mr. Jones was going to go down for what  _ they _ did, and if it meant that Betty was forced to break up with that Serpent? All the better. I don’t understand why I’m being put on trial here. Obviously Mr. Jones was guilty of  _ something _ being that he’s a drug dealing gang leader. Who  _ cares  _ if he wasn’t guilty of murder? If he had done his job, Jason wouldn’t be dead, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We would be at the Farm, awaiting the birth of our child.” 

“Ms. Cooper, you framed an innocent man for a murder he didn’t commit!” Waldo exclaimed. “And it’s obvious that he didn’t commit it because when I got your mother on the phone the two of them were together, and not in the sense that they were sharing a cell in the Sheriff’s station.”

Polly rolled her eyes. “You didn’t even call me in for that,” she said. “You figured out that I wrote those things on Betty’s locker, and you decided that was worthy of reading me the riot act, even though I don’t see anything wrong with telling everyone that we go to school with the truth. She is a slut. You should hear what my dad says about her. About them.”

“Given that your mother wanted to press charges--”

“Screw my mother,” Polly snapped. “If she really loved me she would have let me go to the Farm, too.” 

Waldo felt a headache coming on. The Blossom girl was sitting silently beside Polly, stewing, and he hadn’t been able to get ahold of her mother, so he wasn’t entirely certain what he was supposed to do there. He just knew that it was better to involve Alice Cooper in decisions he made involving her children. Especially since she was an employee of the school. 

He was almost relieved to see her in front of his office door, even though the sight of the blonde woman usually filled him with dread. The same could be said for her companion. Waldo hadn’t seen FP Jones in years, but he remembered having him as a student. It had been an...experience. 

He stood and pushed his chair back from his desk, and crossed the room to open the door. “Mrs. Cooper--”

“Call me Alice, Waldo,” she said, her tone entirely too icy for Waldo’s comfort. “I understand there has been an incident that requires my attention? You remember FP, right?” 

“He  _ killed  _ Jason!” Cheryl exclaimed. 

“Would you shut your mouth?” She demanded. “The both of you are so utterly reprehensible to me at this time,” she added, as she entered the room, wearing a jacket that looked eerily similar to the one that Jones had on. Waldo gulped. Alice shot him a feral grin. “Part of me thinks that you are the reason your mother is in the ICU clinging to life with third degree burns,” she added. “A mysterious fire my rear end.” 

“How did you find out?” 

“I  _ didn’t _ find out until you opened your foolish mouth and  _ told _ me,” Alice said, her tone a hiss. “By the way, the two of you should know that Harold has found himself beside bars. He is about as skilled as covering his tracks as two idiot River Vixens. You owe your sister an apology,” she told Polly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll understand how you feel, even though she wasted her time rescuing you from the home for troubled youths.” 

“What is  _ he _ doing here?” Polly demanded. “Bringing someone like him around me? Around your grandbabies? How dare you--”   
  
“Funny how you had no problem with the Serpents when you wanted to take their drugs and sell them,” she purred. “Oh, I know all about you, Polly. About your secret drug dealing life. About this stunt involving FP. And I’m not happy about your behavior, lately. Seeing as you saw fit to break out of the Sisters, I have no choice but to allow the Sheriff to do with you as he sees fit.”

“What?” 

“You heard me.”

“I heard you, Mom, but I don’t understand. You’re  _ actually _ on  _ his _ side?”

“This isn’t about sides, Polly. This is about doing what’s right. This is about righting yet  _ another _ injustice that has been wrought upon society by someone I know. “

“What’s right? You’re turning your back on your own daughter!”   
  


Alice’s laugh was bitter. “Oh Polly. You’re  _ not _ the only child I have,” she said. “I certainly don’t see the allure in covering up crimes. No matter who is the perpetrator.” She turned to Waldo. “I took the liberty of informing the Sheriff that his presence was needed here. I suppose you should know the truth about why you were suddenly down a music teacher. Could we speak about that somewhere privately? Surely the ever so  _ useless _ school resource officer can police the two of them?” 

Truthfully, Geraldine’s disappearance had confused Waldo. He was more than willing to find out the reasoning behind it. Even if it meant having to smooth over the ruffled feathers of Officer Kirpatrick when he returned to the office. 

“You’ll have to excuse Alice,” FP Jones said. “She’s had a rough day.”

  
  
  
  


“That comment was unnecessary, FP,” Alice said, as they waited in the hallway for Principal Weatherbee to emerge from his office. “Whether or not I have had a ‘rough day’ does not recuse people from feeling the full impact of my thoughts on their abilities. I will have you know that if that school resource hack job had performed his duties in any sort of admirable way ever, your latest experience in jail would not have occurred.” She shook her head. “But of course, put on a Vixens uniform, get a free pass to behave however the fuck you want.” 

“She’s your daughter, Alice, I--”

“No. She’s Hal’s daughter. I tried so  _ hard _ to keep her away from here. Keep her away from this town, keep her away from her sister. Sure I used Jason’s death as an excuse, but I never anticipated Betty feeling the  _ need _ to find her. I thought she would realize that there  _ was _ something wrong with Polly. There  _ is _ something wrong with Polly.” 

“You knew Betty was going to look,” he said with a sigh. “I mean, Al, let’s face it. She’s  _ your _ daughter.” 

“Yeah,” she sighed, and tucked her hair behind her ear, “yeah, FP, I know. I know she is.” 

Alice didn’t fault Elizabeth for looking for Polly. She faulted herself. For not telling Elizabeth just why she had sent the girl away, why she had pushed for an adoption. It wasn’t entirely out of her shame at Polly following in her footsteps. 

“You wore that jacket on purpose, didn’t you?” FP questioned. She shrugged. “I mean, beyond the fact that you didn’t want Jughead to put it on.” 

“Of course I don’t want Jughead to put it on, given that he is entirely over his head if he stays in your trailer, let alone looks one of the Serpents in the eye.” She sighed. “Truthfully I wore it to provide a united front. To show Polly that you and I are on the same team, to--” She plastered a smile on her face as Waldo exited the office, and approached them. “Waldo. Perhaps we could speak in the Blue and Gold?” 

“I think that’s a good idea,” the principal said hastily, and she smiled serenely at him, and looped her arm through FP’s. “I’m assuming this is something that the entire world shouldn’t know?” 

“Well, of course they should know,” she purred. “I’m just allowing you first pick.” 

Was Alice wrong to take advantage of Fred’s state to allow the wheels of justice to continue practicing turning? Perhaps. Did she care? No. 

Her heels clacked against the flooring as she lead the way to the Blue and Gold, more than a bit relieved that the students took stock of the combination in front of them, and gave them a wide berth. It was indeed nice to be feared. 

She unlocked the door to the newspaper’s office, and she let FP and Waldo file in behind her, before she closed the door behind them. She perched idly on a desk. 

“Geraldine Grundy is not Geraldine Grundy,” she said with a drawl. “Her real name is Jennifer Gibson. She is a sexual predator.” 

“Those are some serious accusations,” Waldo said. “Are you sure?” 

“Painfully,” she sighed, and she pulled out a voice recorder from her handbag. “Allow us to listen in on an episode of Disasters of My Life.” 

  
  


New York was a one party consent state, after all, and Alice had of course consented to the conversation that they were listening to being recorded, at the time hoping to use it for the Sheriff, but being semi-satisfied with the audience she had. Fred’s oblivious, obtuse, nature shone through. 

“This has to be reported,” Waldo said, once the recording had finished, and Alice had presented him with a copy of the cassette. “This is unacceptable. I don’t care if moving away satisfied Fred.” 

“I don’t disagree, Waldo,” she said, her tone soothing. “Why do you think I saved this? I was just biding my time, waiting for the moment to strike. And now? It appears it has. You have my blessing to do so.” 

He blinked. 

“Come on, FP,” Alice said. “I want to get out of here before they come to take Polly.”

Alice wasn’t entirely unfeeling, though she pretended to be. It was an unfortunate failing on her part. 

FP nodded. “Where do you want to go?” 

“The hell away from here,” she said, after a moment. “But, we can’t.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I wasn’t talking about Mrs. Cooper, Betty,” he snapped. “I was talking about Veronica. You can’t expect me to live in the same house as her after what her mother did to my dad!”

“I’m not staying here,” Archie said for what Jughead felt was roughly the millionth time, as Veronica paced back and forth, wearing a hole in the Coopers’ kitchen floor, and Betty busied herself stress baking. “I don’t need to be babysat, Jug. I can stay at home on my own until Mom gets here.” 

“Is she even coming?” Jughead asked. “Have you actually spoken to her, Archie? Or do you seriously think that you can pretend that you have and then pretend that your mother is living in the house  _ next door _ to Betty’s? Like her mother won’t notice? She isn’t you, Archie. She has a keen sense of observation skills.” 

“You expect me to stay here with her?” 

Betty’s eyes flashed. “What did my mother ever do to you, Archie?” The muffin tin slammed down angrily. “Just because she’s a  _ little _ overprotective--”   
  


“I wasn’t talking about Mrs. Cooper, Betty,” he snapped. “I was talking about Veronica. You can’t expect me to live in the same house as her after what her mother did to my dad!”

Jughead was starting to regret not begging Alice to take him with her to get his dad. There was no way that was less comfortable than this. 

“Arch--”

Veronica had processed the comment and was stalking over to them, her eyes cold and dark. He gulped. Archie seemed to be oblivious. 

“What’s the difference, huh?” Veronica demanded. “Betty’s dad shot your father. Why aren’t you vilifying her for his sins?” 

“Everyone knows how Betty’s parents work,” he said. (Betty began to angrily wash the pile of dishes that were in the sink.) “How her parents  _ had _ to get married after her mother got sent away to that convent? How the Coopers covered it up by claiming she’d gone to juvenile hall? Didn’t you wonder where Mrs. Cooper got the idea to send Polly to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy?” Archie demanded. “Well?”

“Archie, I don’t think this is necessary,” Jughead said. “Maybe we could just...get along for the sake of the people we are staying with?”

“Her mother tried to murder my dad!”

“Betty’s father pulled the trigger--”

“Because your mother told him to!” Archie exploded. “He wouldn’t have had such a ridiculous thought if she hadn’t put it in his head. He sure as hell didn’t care about whether it was adultery or not when  _ he  _ was sleeping with Jughead’s mother! Why the fuck did it suddenly matter that my dad had?” 

Jughead held no illusions about his mother’s fidelity to her marriage, but it appeared that Betty had seemed to hold her parents’ marriage in some sort of regard, at least that was what he assumed, judging by the fact that she was silently crying and the fact that what had once been one of Alice Cooper’s glass baking pans was now in pieces on the tile floor. 

“Dammit, Archie,” he said. “You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” 

“What did I even say?”

Jughead opened his mouth to reply, and he would have, had Betty not crossed the room to address him, her arms crossed, and her hands clenched in fists. 

“What did you say about my parents?” She demanded. “My mom and dad were high school sweethearts, and how dare you bring up the baby that my mother put up for adoption like he’s a joke? How do you even know about him, anyways?” 

Archie scoffed. “High school sweethearts? Your mom married your dad so his parents would pay for her time at the Sisters. It’s what people do on the Northside. But your mother wouldn’t know that, because--”

“Because why, Archie? What are you going to say?” 

“I just think it’s interesting that your mother suddenly cares about Jughead’s dad,” he said. “I mean, don’t you? She spends all her days writing article after article deriding the Southside, and then, suddenly, she’s all buddy buddy with him? What’s she hiding?”

“Shut up about my mother,” Betty hissed. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, and I don’t like it. I swear to you, Archie, if you say another damn thing about my mother, I will make you regret it. And for that matter, how dare you hold me and Veronica to separate standards? Don’t you dare make my father out to be some sort of innocent flower in this because you’re angry that another one of your father’s attempts to date since your mother walked out has blown up in his face. He’s not some innocent person who can’t help himself and was taken for a ride. He knew what he was doing when he slept with Jughead’s mom and tried to homewreck their marriage, and he knew what he was doing with Veronica’s mom. And he would have had to be an idiot to not look into what her father’s company was doing. How did he not know that Lodge Industries wasn’t legitimate?” 

“He knew.” Archie was pretending to be interested in his shoes. 

“Oh, so that was okay, but Jughead’s dad being a Serpent was unacceptable?” 

“He thought they could turn legitimate! That that was why they were partnering together! That--”

“She lied to him,” Veronica said, after a moment. “They weren’t going to go legitimate. They  _ aren’t _ going to go legitimate. Or maybe he just told you that they were because they’re definitely not. The drive-in is just the beginning.” 

“Your father didn’t care that Veronica’s mother is a mob boss?” Jughead demanded. 

“Of course not,” Archie said. “If he knew, he probably gave her the benefit of the doubt. You know. Everyone makes mistakes.” 

Jughead’s brows rose. He sighed. “Archie. Did my dad ever get the benefit of the doubt from your dad? Ever?”

“He’s a Serpent--”

“Right.” Jughead scowled. “I thought you’d say something like that.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I think you know exactly what--”

The front door opened, and Jughead forced himself to stop talking, just in time for Alice Cooper to glide into her home, a familiar figure coming in behind her. 

“Dad?” Jughead found it hard to believe that FP was really out of jail. But there he was, standing in the Coopers’ entranceway, sans bars and handcuffs. “You really got out?” 

Archie sputtered. Jughead ignored him. He elected to cross the room in the direction of the two adults. “Of course he got out, Jughead, what do you take me for, a liar?” He heard Alice say. “FP and I couldn’t help hearing some rather loud noises, children, what happened?” 

Archie gaped. Jughead rolled his eyes at the redhead. “Archie broke one of your baking pans,” he said. The lie rolled easily off his tongue. “He was trying to tell everyone it didn’t happen. There’s broken glass everywhere.” 

“Archibald!” 

“It wasn’t me! It was Betty!”

“As if my sweet Elizabeth would destroy that pan! Don’t you dare pin this on her!”

FP chuckled. “Come here, boy. Give your old man a hug hello.” 

  
  



End file.
